Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose (1) goes for a lay up during the first quarter against Memphis Grizzlies power forward Jon Leuer (30) at Scottrade Center. / Jeff Curry, USA TODAY Sports

by Sam Amick, USA TODAY Sports

by Sam Amick, USA TODAY Sports

When TNT analyst Steve Kerr said recently that the Chicago Bulls would unseat the Miami Heat for the title this season, it was much more than the typical preaseason prediction from a pundit.

Kerr knows of what he speaks: this was a former member of the back-to-back champion Chicago Bulls saying that the challenge of doing it again would be too tough, too taxing to pull off for a Heat team that has already made the march to the Finals three consecutive times. But his view that had as much to do with the return of the Bulls' Derrick Rose as it did anything else underscored a compelling reality about the 2013-14 campaign that is almost upon us: when the many stars who were missing in action last season come back, virtually anything is possible. Here's a look at some of the biggest stars and where they stand. Or, for some, where they sit.

Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls

Two preseason games in, this much is clear: he's still one of the fastest players in the league.

Speed is everything when it comes to Rose's game, and the 2010-11 MVP who tore his ACL in April 2012 and missed all of last season was back to being a blur in his strong outings against Indiana and Memphis. After his 13-point, three-assist, four-turnover showing against the Pacers on Saturday (20 minutes), Indiana coach Frank Vogel said "Same old Derrick Rose. He looked great." After his 13-point, three-assist, one-turnover outing on Monday (23 minutes), new teammate Mike Dunleavy compared him to fellow speedster Monta Ellis, but added, "With Derrick, it's a whole different gear ‚?¶ I don't remember him being that fast.'"

As the Bulls reminded the masses in May when they handed Miami its first playoff loss in the Eastern Conference semifinal opener that they ultimately lost in five games, they were capable of being a thorn-in-the-Heat-side foe even without Rose. With him ‚?? and with small forward Luol Deng in a contract year, center Joakim Noah healthy and coach Tom Thibodeau's elite defensive scheme still working its magic ‚?? these Bulls who fell to Miami in the 2011 Conference Finals should indeed be there near the end. Rose's next test comes on Saturday, as Chicago faces Washington in Buffalo, N.Y.

Dwight Howard, Houston Rockets

For all the focus on the locker room drama in Laker Land last season, Howard's story ‚?? both then and now - is better suited for the Discovery Health channel than it is TNT. The bottom line is this: if the back that he had surgically repaired in April 2012 is finally fully healed, then the Rockets will be title contenders.

It's so far, so good on that front for the three-time Defensive Player of the Year who signed with Houston in July. Howard showed flashes of his old Superman self in his debut against New Orleans on Saturday, finishing with 19 points, nine rebounds and a block in 27 minutes. The most telling signs of how he's feeling came in the first quarter: Exhibit A came on the defensive end, as he soared high to swat a Tyreke Evans shot in the first quarter (the play was deemed a goal-tend). Exhibit B came on the offensive end not long after when Howard took a bounce-pass from Jeremy Lin while rolling to the rim and could be seen telling his point guard after the play that he should have thrown the alley-oop pass. Howard, it seems, is ready to operate in his old air space again.

"It's coming back slowly," Howard told USA TODAY Sports recently about his back. "It's a process‚?¶I'm still going to get healthier. As the season progresses, everything that I lost will start coming back. It did last season. There was a big difference from the beginning of the season to the end of the season. I was catching lobs, I wasn't missing dunks. All that stuff was back, so it takes time.

"The biggest issue right now is just that the other muscles were overworking, because they had to compensate last year for the weak spots in my back. So now, everything is working together again. It's a process. I've been diligent in the whole process."

Kevin Love, Minnesota Timberwolves

Could this finally be the season where we get to see what Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio, Rick Adelman & Co. can do together? Let's hope so. As tantalizing rosters go, the Timberwolves have one of the most interesting around and ‚?? especially with the free agent addition of former Oklahoma City shooting guard Kevin Martin ‚?? have the talent to contend for a playoff spot in the West. Love, specifically, isn't too far removed from a 2011-12 campaign in which he posted gaudy numbers in 55 games ‚?? 26 points, 13.3 rebounds per game ‚?? before his season was cut short by a concussion.

But Minnesota has been decimated by injuries the past few seasons, with Ricky Rubio's return in 2012-13 from his ACL tear rendered virtually irrelevant when Love was gone for good again on Jan. 8. He broke his right hand last October, then re-fractured it in late March. As if that wasn't' enough, he had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in April while the T-Wolves limped to a 31-51 finish. The Land of 10,000 ailments was a place of pain and unfulfilled promise.

In the here and now, though, Love's preseason return was quiet but productive. He had nine points, seven rebounds, and five assists in 28 minutes of an overtime loss against CSKA Moscow on Monday. More importantly, he didn't get hurt. Love and the Timberwolves play next at Toronto on Wednesday night.

Andrew Bogut, Golden State Warriors

Like Howard, Bogut ‚?? whose injury-ravaged career continued with ankle surgery in April of 2012 ‚?? was back without truly being back last season. But after logging 32 regular season games with his minutes limited so as to avoid a setback, he showed what sort of impact he could have as a dominant defender, rebounder and occasional offensive option during the Warriors' first-round playoff upset against the Denver Nuggets.

Yet even with his contributions, he was hardly healthy. There were pain-killing injections, sleepless nights recovering between playoff games and the kind of wear and tear he's hoping to avoid this time around. It's a contract year for Bogut, who said he's back with "15-ish" fewer pounds on his chiseled frame. With perimeter threats like Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes and new free agent addition Andre Iguodala on the wings drawing so much attention, Bogut should be plenty motivated to be a difference maker.

"Coming back and being healthy is first and foremost, and then after that I know what I'm capable of," Bogut told USA TODAYS Sports. "My role on this team is a little bit different. Gone are the days of probably scoring 20-plus points a game like I was in Milwaukee ‚?¶ To get 10 rebounds and two blocked shots (per game) is probably my main goal for the season."

Bogut had seven points, 12 rebounds and no blocks in the Warriors' preseason-opening loss to the Lakers on Saturday (17 minutes), then just two points, four rebounds and two blocks in a win over Sacramento on Monday (22 minutes). The Warriors play at Utah on Tuesday night.

Danny Granger, Indiana Pacers

Granger's problematic left knee has forever changed the arc of his career, but the 2009 All-Star is indeed back and ready to find his new place on this Pacers team that came within one win of the NBA Finals in May. The 30-year-old who missed all of last season with knee trouble was, as coach Frank Vogel put it, "rusty" in his return on Saturday (six points on 2 of 10 shooting in 29 minutes off the bench in the loss to the Bulls).

With Pacers small forward Paul George having exploded on the star scene while Granger has been away, it's unclear if Granger will have to get used to this reserve role or if Vogel will go big with a starting lineup that includes both small forwards. Granger ‚?? who averaged between 18.7 and a career-high 25.8 points per game between 2007 and 2012 ‚?? will determine that much with his play. Next up for the Pacers: a Thursday matchup against Houston in the Philippines.